Method of knitting



May 14,1963

Original Filed Sept. 9, 1950 P. L. THURSTON 3,089,320

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METHOD OF KNITTING Original Filed Sept. 9, 1950 15 Sheets-Sheet 14Summer Pau/ L Thurfzan attorney May 14, 1963 P. L. THURSTON METHOD OFKNITTING Original. Filed Sept. 9, 1950 15 SheetsSheet 15 Qttorneg UnitedStates Patent 3,089,320 METHOD OF KNITTING Paul L. Thurston,Martinsburg, W. Va., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Textile MachineWorks, Reading, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original applicationSept. 9, 1950, Ser. No. 183,989. Di-

vided and this application Sept. 26, 1951, Ser. No. 248,339

8 Claims. (CI. 66-43) The present invention relates to knitting machinesand, particularly, to circular knitting machines. It is especiallyapplicable to machines for knitting circular seamless hosiery.

This application is a division of my application, Serial No. 183,989,filed September 9, 1950, now Patent No. 2,680,961.

' While many mechanisms have been proposed for producing differentpatterns in knitted fabrics, the patterning potentialities of suchmechanisms have been limited. This is especially true with respect tosolid color patterns, as distinguished from plating where the back yarntends to show through. Moreover, with present machines, attempts to makemore difiicult patterns result in decrease of the production of themachines to a point where they are uneconomical to operate. In someinstances, hand operations are necessary. The problem of patterning isstill more difiicult in small diameter machines such as those used forproducing hosiery by reason of space limitations. In automatic hosierymachines, the difficulty is increased by the necessity of operating byreciprocation and widening and narrowing to produce heel and toepockets.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a knitting machinewith far greater patterning capabilities than the knitting machinespresently available. These patterning capabilities can be used either toproduce decorative designs or to produce different fabric structures. Afurther object of the invention is to provide a machine that is whollyautomatic in its operation and produces diflicult patterns whilemaintaining a high rate of production. While the invention is applicableto knitting machines for many diiferent types of fabric, it isespecially advantageous in small diameter circular knitting machines forautomatically producing seamless hosiery and, for this reason, a machineof this type is illustrated in the drawings. It will he understood,however, that this machine is shown and described merely by way ofexample and that the invention is in no way limited to it. As will beseen from the description and drawings, the machine in accordance withthe invention is basically different from knitting machines heretoforeavailable and embodies many novel features. While it is preferable touse all of these features to gain full advantage of the invention, itwill be understood that certain features can be used without usingothers.

In accordance with the invention, the needles of the knitting machineare individually operated and their operation is electricallycontrolled, needle selection being effected by means of electricalcontrol circuits rather than by conventional cams, jacks, etc. Thecontrol circuits provide both patterning selection and sequenceselection. Patterning selection determines which needles operate and howthey operate. Sequence selection determines the timing and sequence ofoperation of the selected needles.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, each needle isindividually controlled in each course. The electrical operation of theneedles offers many possibilities, such as cross-connecting orinterconnecting certain needles electrically by means of switching, andalso the possibility of switching from one selection or sequence controlto another. Preferably, the yarn selection is also controlledelectrically to provide wide selection and extremely flexible control.Many other novel features and advantages of the invention will appearfrom the following description in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

' FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a left side elevation of the machine.

FIG. 3 is a right side elevation.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view corresponding to a portion of FIG. 3 butwith certain parts removed in order to show other parts behind them.

' FIG. 5 is a plan view of the machine with certain of thesuperstructure cut away.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing connections for raisingthe yarn-feeding head of the machine.

FIG. 7 is a radial section taken in a vertical plane indicatedapproximately by the line 7-7 in FIG. 5.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are similar sections showing respectively different formsof needle-operating mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a small scale schematic plan showing means for raising andlevelling the needles, for example to receive a transferred top.

FIG. 11 is a plan of the needle-operating cam ring shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is a partial section on the line 12-12 in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is an outside elevation of one of the cam assemblies shown inFIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is an outside elevation of another of the cam assemblies.

FIG. 15 is a section on line 15-15 in FIG. 11. FIG. 16 is a developedelevation showing cams on the cam ring of FIG. '11.

FIG. 17 is a developed plan view of the cams.

FIG. 18 is a plan of a control plate for sequence control.

FIG. 19 is an elevation of the control plate and associated parts shownin FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a plan of the upper end of a pattern drum controlling needleselection and yarn selection and also shows an arrangement forcross-connecting certain needles.

FIG. 21 is a partial right side elevation of the parts shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a wiring diagram showing control circuits for theneedle-operating mechanism shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 23 is a plan of a sequence control plate for use in thisembodiment.

FIG. 24 is a wiring diagram showing circuits for con trolling theneedle-operating mechanism illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 25 is a view, partially in plan and partially in horizontalsection, taken approximately on the line 25-25 in FIG. 1, illustratingyarn selection mechanism.

FIG. 26 is an elevation and partial section of the yarn selectionmechanism, as viewed from the left of FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a side view of an article of hosiery made in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 28 is a schematic developed view showing the pattern of the fabricillustrated in FIG. 27.

FIG. 29 is a stitch diagram of a small portion of the fabric.

In the drawings, the lines on which sections are taken are located asaccurately as possible but should be considered as approximate. In orderto simplify the drawings, certain parts of the machine are omitted inthe various figures.

GENERAL CONSTRUCTION The machine in accordance with the invention has aframe on which the moving parts are supported, a needle bed, a series ofindependent needles reciprocally mounted on the needle bed, mechanism[for individually operating the needles, including an electromagnet foreach needle, electric circuits controlling both the sequence of operation and the selection of the needles, yarn-feeding mecha: nism andpreferably means for changing yarns during the operation of the machine.

The needle bed is shown in the form of a slotted cylinder 1 (FIG. 8)which is stationary in the sense of being non-rotating but preferably issupported for vertical endwise movement by a cylindrical sleeve portion2 of the machine frame -3 (FIGS. 1 and 8). The needle cylinder 1 ismovable vertically by means of a collar 4- and suitable connectingmembers 5 and a cam follower 6 (FIG. 1) which cooperates with cams 7carried by the shaft 8 of the main pattern drum 9 of the machine. Thevertical movement of the cylinder adjusts the length of the knittedstitch and also provides for lowering the cylinder relative to theneedles when it is desired to transfer fabric on to the machine, as forexample the rib knit top of a stocking.

A circular series of needles is provided on the needle bed, each needle10 having a hook '11 and latch :12 at its upper end and one or morebutts 13 at its lower end (FIG. 9). At the upper end of the cylinder,there is a sinker ring 14 carrying a circular series of radiallyslidable sinkers 15 which are moved in and out by means of suitable camsurfaces in a rota-ting and oscillating sinker cap '16. The latches ofthe needles are controlled by one or more latch rings 17 (FIG. 9).

NEEDLE-OPERATING MECHANISM The needle-operating mechanism may assumedilferen-t physical forms, three embodiments being illustrated in FIGS.7, 8 and 9, respectively. In the form shown in FIG. 9, each needle isprovided with an operating lever 20 which extends radially outwardlyfrom the needle cylin der 1 and is pivoted at 21 on a stationary framemember 22. At its inner end, the lever 20 has a socket 23 that fits overthe butt 13 of the needle. At its outer end, the lever has an armature24 disposed between two electromagnets 25 and 26 carried, respectively,by stationary rings 27 and 28. When the magnet "25 is energized, itlifts the armature 24 to pull the needle down. The energizing of magnet26 pulls downwardly on the armature 24 to raise the needle. Hence, byenergizing selected magnets in predetermined sequence, selected needlescan be raised to receive a yarn and then drawn down to knit it.

In order to raise and level all of the needles simultaneously, forexample to transfer a rib knit stocking top on to the needles, a bufferring 29 is raised beneath the inner end portions of levers 20 by meansof interengaging cam portions on ring 29 and a cooperating ring 30 whichis rotatable by means of a handle 31 (FIGS. 1 and 10*). The inner endsof the levers 20 are guided in their vertical movement by means of astationary ring 32 having a series of vertical radial slots 33 in whichthe levers are received.

In the form as shown in FIG. 7, the needle-operating mechanism comprisesan operating lever 35 for each needle. Each of the levers is pivoted at36 on a bracket 37 carried by an upper ring 38 supported by means ofposts 39 which project upwardly from radial ribs 40 projecting outwardlyfrom the cylinder-supporting sleeve 2. At its inner end, the lever 35has a socket portion 41 engaging the butt 13 of the correspondingneedle. Intermediate its ends, each lever is provided with a rider 42which is preferably formed of hardened material. A portion of the uppersurface of each rider 4 2 is preferably rounded for smooth engagement byone or more cams 43 carried by a cam ring '44 which is rotatablysupported by means of ball bearings 45. The cam ring 44 is driven insynchronism with a rotating yarn feed head (described below) and thenumber and position of cams 43 provided on the ring correspond to theyarn feeds. In the present embodiment, there are four yarn feeds whichare equally spaced in a circumferential direction and four cams 43likewise equally spaced. The cams 43 are substantially \/-shaped withflattened bottoms and are adapted to engage the riders 42 on theneedle-operating levers 35 in either direction of rotation of the camring 44 to draw the needles down and thereby draw stitches of the yarnfed to the needles. The phase relation is such that the cams 43 followthe respective yarn feeds. The cam ring 44 is driven in any suitablemanner, for example by means of a separate sprocket as described belowin conjunction with FIG. 7 or by an arm 46 that projects downwardly fromthe yam-feeding head and acts on one or the other of spaced bumpermembers 47 on the ring 44, the spacing being such as to provide properphase relationship between the cam ring and the yarn feed head in bothdirections of rotation. These screws provide suitable adjustment. Thelevers 35 are guided adjacent the riders 42 by means of a verticallyslotted cylinder 48 which also supports a bearing ring 49 for therotating cam ring 44.

When the needle-operating levers 35 are pressed down by a cam 43, eachlever is held in its down position by means of a spring latch 51 whichhas a bifurcated upper end straddling the lever 35 and engaging therider 42. The latch 51 is pivoted at 52 and a spring 53 tends to swingit in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 7) about its pivot. Thelatch 51 is swung in the opposite direction to release theneedle-operating lever 35 by means of a rod 54 connected with theplunger-type armature 55 of a cylindrical electromagnet 56 supported bya bracket 57 on a stationary ring 58. A tension spring 59 acts betweenthe lever 35 and the upper ring 38 to raise the lever when it isunlatched.

In this embodiment, the needles and operating levers are normally lockeddown in their lower position. By energizing selected ones of the magnets56 in predetermined sequence, the corresponding levers are unl'atchedand the needles are raised by springs 59. After receiving yarn for thatparticular fed, the needles are pressed down by one of the cams '43acting on the operating levers which are again latched. If a magnet 56is not energized, the corresponding needle holds its stitch and does notknit a new stitch in that course.

If it is desired to raise and level the needles for trans- \ferring,this can be done by mechanism like that described in conjunction withFIGS. 9 and =10. In this event, provision is made for disengaging thecams 43 from the riders 42, for example by making the riders slidable onthe levers or by providing for the lifting or radial movement of thecams 43. Otherwise, certain needles would be held down by the cams. Oneend of the winding of each electromagnet 56 may, for convenience, beconnected to a bus bar 64.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the needles are operated by radiallyprojecting levers 60, each of which has a socket 61 at its inner end toreceive the needle butt 13 and is pivotally mounted at its outer end 62on a bracket 63 carried by the supporting ring 33. Upper arm 65 ispivoted on the bracket 63 at '66 and is connecteclwith the lever 60 by apair of rods 67, one being shown, so that the lever 60 and arm 65 form aparallelogram linkage. A screw adjustment device 68 provides adjustmentof the relative positions of the lever 66 and arm 65.

At its inner endnearest the needle cylinder-the arm 65 carries a roller70 mounted on a shaft 71 that is telescopically slidable in the arm 65and is pressed inwardly towards the needle cylinder by a spring 72. Inits outer position, the shaft 71 is held against the spring pressure bymeans of a latch 73 engaging a detent 74 on the shaft. The latch 73 ispivotally mounted on the arm 65 at 75 and is pressed into engagementwith the detent 74 by a light spring 76. The latch is released by meansof a bell crank lever 77 pivoted at 78 on an extension of the bracket 63and having an upwardly projecting portion 79 adapted to engage the rearend of latch 73 at a point adjacent the pivot 66 of arm 65. The otherarm of the bell crank 77 extends downwardly and is connected by a wireor link 80 with the pivoted armature 81 of a two-pole electromagnet 82.When the magnet is energized, the latch 73 is released to permit theroller 70 to move in towards the cylinder and thereby be in a positionto be engaged by cams carried by a cam ring described below. The roller70 is subsequently cammed back to its outer position and held therebythe latch 73 until the magnet 82 is again energized.

On the needle-operating lever 60, there is a slider 85 carrying ahorizontal roller 86 and a vertical roller 87. A spring 88 tends to movethe slider in towards the needle cylinder. The slider is held in itsouter position against the pressure of the spring by a latch 89,portions of which, in the showing of FIG. 8, are hidden behind an arm ofcrank 77 and a part of lever 60, which is pivoted on the lever 60 at 90and has an upstanding portion 91 adapted to engage an adjustable screw92 carried by the bracket 63. A spring 93 tends to hold the latch inengagement with a detent on the slider 85 when the lever is in its lowerposition. When the lever is moved upwardly a predetermined distancedetermined by the adjustment of screw 92, the engagement of upstandingportion 91 of the latch with the screw 92 causes the latch to releasethe slider 85, allowing it to move inwardly to a position in whichroller 86 is engaged by cams described below. Cam surfaces are alsoprovided to engage with vertical roller 87 to move the slider to itsouter position, whereupon it is again held by the latch 89.

The cams that act on the lever 60 and arm 65 are carried by the rotatingand oscillating cam ring 44 (of FIG. 8) and an associated outer cam ring95 which is spaced from, and carried by, ring 44 by means of suitablebrackets. These cam rings are rotated and oscillated in synchronism withthe yarn-feeding head, for example by means of an arm 46, as in FIG. 7,or preferably by means of a chain sprocket '96 (FIG. 3) which is mountedon posts 97 projecting upwardly trom the cam ring 44 and driven by achain from a sprocket on the control shaft 120 described below.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, there are four completesets of cams on the cam rings 44 and 95, the sets being equally spacedand-corresponding to the tour feeds of the yarn-feeding head. Moreover,since the machine is designed to work in reciprocation as well as instraight rotary movement, each of the cams is double-faced or there aretwo corresponding cams. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 11 to 17, the camsadapted to act on the roller 70 of arm 65 are carried by the outer c amring 95 and comprise clearing cams 100, resetting cams 101 and levellingcams 1102. The clearing cams are so positioned that they act on therollers 70 only when the rollers have been fired by release of thelatches 73 and 70, even when the latter are retracted. These cams are ofsuch height as to raise the unselected needles so that their books areapproximately level with the sinkers. This prevents the formation ofundesirably large loops at the gore during widening and narrowing, forexample in making the heel and toe pockets and in kitting diamondpatterns.

The cams acting on the rollers 86 and 87 on the lever 60 are carried bythe inner cam ring 44 and comprise stitch cam-s 103 and a V-shapedresetting earn 104. The cams 103 are in such position radially that theydo not engage the rollers 86 when the sliders are latched in their outerposition. When the rollers are in their inner position, they are engagedby the stitch cams 103 to draw the needles down and thereby drawstitches of the yarn fed to the needles. Resetting cam 104 acts radiallyon the vertical rollers 87 to move the sliders to their outer position.As the needles and operating levers 60 have at this time been drawn downby the stitch earn 103, the sliders 85 are held in their outer positionby the latches 89. The resetting cam .104 is slidable relative to thestitch cams 103, for example by being slidably mounted on a rib 106 thatprojects from the outer face of the stitch cams. It thereby assumes theposition shown in solid lines in FIGS. 16 and 17 during rotation of thecam rings in one direction and the position shown in dotted lines duringthe other direction of rotation so that resetting cam at all timestrails the active stitch cam. I

'I'bere are also provide V-shaped feeding cams 107 (FIGS. 11, 15, 16 and17) which are carried by inwardly projecting portions 108 of the innercam ring 44 and are adapted to engage either the inner ends of thelevers 60 or additional butts on the needles just above these levers soas to lower all of the needles to a predetermined level to receive theyarn fed by the yarn-feeding means. It has been found that the needlesshould be lowered to a point where their latches are protected by thesinkers so that the yarn cannot accidentally get below the latches.

It has been found that with a four-feed machine such as that shown inthe drawings it is not necessary to provide any shogging between the camrings and the yarnfeeding head during reciprocation. As the yarn feedingpoints are disposed between two stitch earns, the needles are operatedto draw stitches of the yarn by one stitch cam during rotation in onedirection and by the stitch cam on the other side of the feeding pointduring rotation in the opposite direction.

The rotatable sinker cap 16 (FIG. 9) is driven from the cam ring 44 bymeans of an upwardly projecting arm 109 (FIGS. 11 to 13) which engagesopposed bumper screws (not shown) that are adjustable to control theangular relation of the cam ring and the sinker cap in both directionsof rotation.

The operation of the needle-actuating mechanism shown in FIG. 8 is asfollows: When the electromagnet 82 is energized, the correspondingroller 70 is fired to its inner position where it is engaged by one ofthe clearing cams (FIGS. ll to 17) to raise the needle to clearingposition. The raising of the needle-operating lever 60 releases latch 89(-FIG. 8), allowing the slider 85 to move to its inner position so as tobe engaged by a stitch cam 103 which draws the needle down to form astitch. The roller 70 and slider 85 are reset by their correspondingresetting cams 101 and 104. When a needle is not selected, i.e. when thecorresponding magnet 82 is not energized, the roller 70 is raisedslightly by the levelling cam 102 but not enough to release the latch 89and not enough to clear the latch of the needle. The unselected needleshence hold their stitches.

NEEDLE SELECTION The selection of needles at each of the four feeds iseifected by a combination of sequence selection, which determines thesequence and timing of the needle operation, and pattern selection,which determines whether or I not a particular needle is to take theyarn and draw a new stitch at that feed.

Sequence Selection Sequence selection is provided by means of a seriesof devices for opening and closing the circuits that supply electricenergy to the individual electromagnets in predetermined sequence oneafter the other. For convenience of terminology, these devices arereferred to as circuit breakers although they may assume any suitableform, for example mechanical contacts, mercury switches or equivalentdevices for stopping and starting the flow of current to energize themagnets or for varying the flow of current above and below a criticalvalue required for energizing the magnets. By means of this sequencecontrol, the magnets that control the needles are energized inpredetermined timed relation to the rotation of the yarn feed. Whenknitting by reciprocation, the sequence control is automaticallyreversed each time the yarn reverses its direction.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by way of example in thedrawings, sequence selection is obtained by the use of a plurality ofcontrol plates. The number of control plates may be varied as desired,depending upon the type of patterns it is desired to produce with themachine. -In FIGS. 2. and 3, five control plates numbered 111, 112, 113,114 and 115, respectively, are mounted one above the other at the backof the machine. The plates are supported by suitable frame structureincluding a plurality of rods 116 which extend between the peripheriesof the plates. The plates are formed of insulating material and eachcarries an arcuate series of electrical contact buttons 117 (FIGS. 18and 19) which are connected by the circuits described below with therespective magnets for the individual needles. Preferably, each contactcontrols a particular magnet although in some instances a contact maycontrol two or more magnets as desired by suitable cross-connection. Insome instances, there may be a complete circular series of contacts, thenumber of contacts corresponding, for example, to the number of needlesin the machine. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, thecontrol plates are shown with approximately semi-circular series ofcontacts, the number of contacts on each plate being equal to, orslightly greater than, half the number of needles. In order to operateall of the needles, two of the control plates may be usedsimultaneously, one controlling half of the needles and the other theremaining half. Alternatively, the needles may be cross-connected sothat each contact controls two needles, for example pairs of needlesthat are diametrically opposite one another. In some instances, asillustrated on control plate 115 (FIG. 24), there may be somewhat morethan a semi-circle of contacts. Such a control plate may, for example,be used in reciprocating knitting, as in knitting heel and toe pocketsof a stocking when it is desired to use more than half of the needles.Other arrangements of the contacts may be used to obtain the particularresults desired. In addition to the contact buttons provided near theperiphery of the control plates, each plate has a concentric inner slipring 118. A rotatable shaft 120 extends up through alined holes in thecontrol plates and carries brushes adapted to engage the slip rings 118and contacts 117, the brushes being electrically connected with oneanother. The shaft 120 is driven from the main shaft 121 of the machineby means of bevel gears 122, a chain 123 and suitable chain sprocket sothat the shaft 120 is always rotated and reciprocated in exactsynchronism with the main shaft 121. The latter is driven in anysuitable manner, for example by means of pulleys 124 (FIG. 3). The shaft120 rotates in a clockwise direction, as viewed from the top, duringoperation of the machine in continuous circular motion.

Each of the control plates 111 and 112 (FIG. 24) is shown with a singleset of brushes, e.g. a brush 126 contacting the slip ring 118 and abrush-127 engaging the contact buttons 117. The brushes are resilientlycarried by an arm 128 which projects radially from an insulating collar129 that is mounted on, and rotates with, the shaft 12$. Provision ispreferably made for adjusting the brush arms angularly with respect tothe shaft so as to vary the phase relation of the arms to one anotherand to the shaft.

Control plates 113, 114 and (FIG. 24) each have a brush engaging theslip ring 11% and a pair of brushes adapted to engage the contactbuttons 117. The two latter brushes are spaced a predetermined distanceapart, for example a distance of twelve contact buttons, and are soarranged that in reciprocating motion the leading brush is in contactwith the buttons While the trailing brush does not engage them. In theconstruction illus trated in the drawings (FIGS. 18 and 19) a splitfiber collar 131 having a bushing 132 clamps on to a sleeve 133 thatsurrounds and rotates with the shaft 126'. The collar carries a radiallyprojecting arm 134 on the lower side of which is resiliently mounted abrush 135 adapted to engage the inner slip ring 118. A cross arm 136 ispivotally mounted at the outer end of the radial arm 134 and carriesspring-pressed brushes 137 and 138- at its opposite ends. The extent ofoscillation of the cross arm 136 is limited by engagement of a point 139provided on the arm with an adjustable stop 140 on the radial arm 134.With this arrangement, the frictional engagement of the brushes with thecontrol plate and contact buttons automatically rocks the cross arm 136upon reversal of the direction of rotation so that the leading brushesonly contact the buttons. This assures that the needles are properlyraised to receive the yarn in both directions of rotation.

Provision is made for lifting the brushes of at least certain of thecontrol plates when the respective plates are not in use. While thedrawings illustrate mechanism for raising the brushes of control plates112 and 113 (FIG. 3), it will be understood that similar or othermechanism may be provided for raising any desired ones or all of thebrushes. The brush-lifting mechanism shown in the drawings comprises abell crank 142 pivoted on a suitable support at 143 and having a forkedarm 144 engaging a collar 145 on the sleeve 133 (FIG. 18) that carriesthe brushes, the sleeve being rotatable with, but axially slidable on,the shaft 120. The other arm of the bell crank is connected by a link146 with a rocker 147 which is pivoted at 148 and has a nose portionadapted to be engaged by suitable cams on the main pattern drum 9. Whenthe nose of the rocker 147 rides up on a cam, the brush assembly iflifted by the bell crank 142.

Means is provided for switching any desired ones of the control platesinto the needle-operating circuits so that the sequence of operation ofthe needles may be controlled by one or another of the control plates orby two or more plates in combination. This makes it possible readily tovary the sequence of operation of the needles, for example when knittingdifierent parts of an article or when knitting difierent articles. Asillustrated in the drawings (FIGS. 3, 5 and 24), the machine is providedwith a series of switches 150, each consisting of a pair of contactsadapted to be pressed together by means of a pivoted rocker arm 151adapted to be engaged by suitable cams on an extension of the mainpattern drum 9. Each of said switches is connected in series between asource of electromotive force and the inner slip ring 118 of one of thecontrol plates. When the rocker arm 151 is engaged by a cam, thecorresponding switch is closed so that electrical energy is suppliedthrough the slip ring to the brushes of the corresponding control plate.As the shaft 120 rotates, the brushes supply current sequentially to thecontacts 117 since the brush that engages the slip ring 118 and thebrush that engages the contacts are electrically connected. Whereprovision is made for lifting the brushes, as described above, it is notnecessary to have a disconnecting switch 15G since the lifting of thebrushes automatically opens the circuit. However, for greaterflexibility of control, each control plate is preferably provided with acorresponding switch 150.

Pattern Selection Pattern selection is obtained by means of circuitbreakers provided in the electrical operating circuits of the individualneedles and opened and closed in accordance with a predetermined patternor plan. The connections between the circuit breakers controlling needleselection and the circuit breakers which control the sequence of needleoperation are such that a needle is operated only by the cooperation ofboth circuit breakers, i.e. when both circuit breakers are in properposition. In the machine illustrated in the drawings, the two circuitbreakers are in series with one another so that current is supplied foroperating a particular needle only when both circuit breakers areclosed. Suitable patterning mechanism is provided for opening andclosing the circuit breakers that control needle selection during theknitting of an article. Preferably, the arrangement is such that theneedle selection can be changed for each course of the fabric. Thepatterning mechanism may assume different forms as, for example, amoving strip or sheet which may be perforated or may have magnetized andunmagnetized areas acting through suitable responsive media to open andclose the circuit breakers controlling pattern selection. Alternatively,a strip or sheet may have areas of different opacity acting throughlight-responsive media to control the circuit breakers. However, themachine illustrated in the drawings has pattern selection circuitbreakers controlled by a rotatable drum, having removable pins actuatingthe circuit breakers.

As shown in FIG. 1, the circuit breakers controlling pattern selectioncomprise a series of switches 153 mounted on a vertical supporting strip154 which is preferably formed of insulating material. The switches maybe of any suitable form, as, for example, contacts carried by spacedresilient leaves mounted on a suitable insulating strip or block.Switches of this typebut for a dilferent purpose-are illustrated in FIG.21. Suitable terminals are provided for the Wiring connections describedbelow. The contacts are normally open, the circuit being closed bypressing the spaced contacts together. There is preferably a patternselection circuit breaker for each needle so that each needle can beindividually controlled although in some instances it may be desirableor permissible to control two or more needles by a single circuitbreaker. Conversely, a needle may be controlled by more than one circuitbreaker, as, for example, in a multi-feed machine where it is desired tohave one needle selection for one feed and a different needle selectionfor another feed.

The pattern selection circuit breakers are closed by means of apattern-selecting drum 155 which is rotatable about an axis parallel tothe strip 154 and has in its peripheral surface a multiplicity of holesinto which pins can be inserted. The pins 156 are adapted to press onthe adjacent leaves of the switches 153 so as to bring the contactstogether and close the circuit. The pins are formed of insulatingmaterial or, alternatively, the pinengaging portions of the switches areinsulated so as to maintain electrical insulation between the switchesand the drum. The number and spacing of the horizontal rows of holes inthe drum 155 correspond with the number and spacing of the switches 153.In the illustrated embodiment, the number of switches 153 is equal tothe number of needles in the machine. The number of holes in each rowmay vary in accordance with the patterning desired but should preferablynot be less than half the number of needles. To provide still greaterpatterning range, the number of holes in each horizontal row isincreased and may, for example, be equal to the number of needles oreven greater. In the preesnt emis racked once each revolution of themain shaft.

bodiment of the invention, there are three hundred holes in each row. Byhaving the number of horizontal rows of holes and corresponding numberof switches equal to the number of needles and by having the number ofholes in each row equal to the number of courses in the patternedportion of the fabric being knit, it is possible to control each needleindividually in the knitting of each course.

The pattern selection drum is rotated intermittently by means of a wormwheel in the form of a toothed ring 157 secured to the upper end of thedrum and rotated by means of la meshing Worm 158 on a horizontal shaft159 rotatably supported by suitable bearings (FIGS. 1, 2 and 5). Theshaft 159 extends across the back of the machine and, at its oppositeend, has a sprocket 160 driven by a chain from a sprocket 161 (FIG. 3)on a shaft 162 which also carries a gear 163 meshing with a larger gear164 on a shaft 165. The shaft 165 is rotated intermittently by means ofa ratchet 166 which is mounted on the shaft and is racked by a pawl 167carried on a swinging lever 168 pivotally supported at 169 and having acam portion 170 adapted to be engaged by one or more rollers 171 carriedby a gear wheel 172 driven by an intermeshing gear on the main shaft ofthe machine. The frequency of racking of the ratchet is determined bythe gear ratio between gear 172 and the main shaft and by the number ofrollers 171. Preferably, the sprocket The racking of the ratchet 166 maybe interrupted by means of an L-shaped blocking arm 173 which isswingable about the shaft 165 by linkage 174 actuated from the mainpattern drum to a position in which it holds the swinging lever 168 outaway from the rollers 171. The blocking lever 173 is held in thisposition by a detent 175 on a lever 176 which is swingable about a pivotshaft 177'. The lever 176 has a nose portion 178 adapted to be engagedby spaced projections on an auxiliary pattern chain 179 which runs on asprocket 180 mounted on the shaft 165; the engagement of a projection onthe chain with the nose portion 178 lifts the lever 176 so as to releasethe blocking lever 173 from the detent 175 and thereby free the swingingarm 168. A bell crank 18-1 actuated from the main pattern drum bysuit-able linkage 182 has a yoke portion adapted to engage the lever 176adjacent its pivot so as to shift the lever laterally, i.e. axially ofthe pivot shaft 177, so that the nose portion 178 is out of line withthe chain 179 so as not to be engaged by the projections on the chain.When the lever 176 is shifted in this manner, it will continue to holdthe arm 173 in a position to block the racking of the ratchet 166.Suitable springs or other means are provided for returning the variousparts to their normal positions. When the ratchet 166 is racked, theshaft 1'59 is rotated and the worm 158 acts on the worm wheel 157 tomove the drum 155 forward a distance equal to the space betweensuccessive holes in the peripheral surface of the drum. The worm locksthe drum in the position to which it is moved and prevents anyover-shooting. In order to release the drum so that it can be movedindependently of the worm 158-, for example to time the machine, meansis provided for engaging and disengaging the worm with the worm wheel157. In the illustrated embodiment, the hearing at the end of shaft 159adjacent the selecting pattern drum is movable toward and away from thedrum by means of an eccentric 184 rotatable by means of a lever orhandle 185.

The patterning potentialities of the machine are still further increasedby the provision of a series of crossconnecting switches so that two ormore needles, for example diametrically opposite needles, can beoperated together. Since the pattern designs on the opposite sides of atubular fabric are ordinarily alike, diametrically opposite needles maybe controlled by the same row of pins on the selecting pattern drum. Forexample, if the machine has 108 needles, they can be controlled by using

7. A METHOD OF KNITTING A TUBULAR FABRIC ON A MULTIFEED KNITTING MACHINEBY RECIPROCATING KNITTING IN WHICH AT LEAST EIGHT THREADS FORM SEPARATESECTIONS OF INDIVIDUAL COURSES, THE STEPS COMPRISING KNITTING, DURING ASTROKE OF RECIPROCATION, THREAD AT EACH OF SAID FEEDS TO FORM SECTIONSOF SAID INDIVIDUAL COURSES AND KNITTING OTHER THREADS, DURING ANOTHERSTROKE OF RECIPROCATION, AT SAID FEEDS TO FORM OTHER SECTIONS OF SAIDINDIVIDUAL COURSES.